Patience pays off for Riders’ Frankie Hickson

Frankie Hickson is used to playing the waiting game.

Hickson, who is from Lynchburg, Va., wasn’t highly touted coming out of high school, but his hard work and determination now have him starting at tailback for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Hickson’s third start of the season will come on Saturday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Banjo Bowl. Kickoff for the game is set for 3 p.m.

“You see a guy who doesn’t check all the boxes off – he’s not a certain height, he’s not a certain weight — and you get overlooked,” Hickson said. “That’s just the mentality I’ve had to play with: I’m going to be overlooked (and) people are going to do things and go in different directions.

“As long as I can control what I can control and take care of what I can, that’s all that matters.”

After not getting a lot of scholarship offers, Hickson eventually chose to play for the Liberty University Flames.

“It was the best option for me. As high school went along, I felt like there was a potential for the pros and if that was going to happen, going to a military institution was not going to be the best thing for me,” Hickson said.

Hickson’s family had a connection to the Flames: His dad, Frank Sr., had a long coaching career and was the running backs coach for Liberty from 2004 to ’08.

“It’s crazy because some of the players I got to meet were still there as coaches and the very person my dad coached in Oklahoma State was my coach when I first got there,” Hickson said. “It’s all family at Liberty.”

Once his football career eventually comes to an end, Hickson would like to follow in his dad’s footsteps and join the coaching ranks.

“I think that college football tools (are) the best teaching tools. You can teach young men humility and work ethic and discipline,” Hickson said. “College was an amazing experience for me and changed my life forever and I just think I can give back.”

After choosing to go to Liberty, Hickson had to wait for his opportunity, being redshirted in his freshman season. He then had to cut his teeth in the return game as a kick returner. In 2016, he had 707 total kickoff return yards, the second-most in program history for a season.

In 2018, Hickson had to battle his way up the Flames’ depth chart and broke out with 1,032 rushing yards.

In 47 career games, the 5-foot-8, 200-pounder had 610 carries for 2,898 yards and 30 touchdowns. He finished his Liberty career as the school’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 4,494.

But the COVID-19 pandemic stopped Hickson’s career in its tracks, forcing him to continuously put off his pro day until March of 2022.

“There were various things I felt like I needed to work on coming out of college and I think that was ultimately the reason I was overlooked,” Hickson said. “I pinpointed all those problems and that was a journey in itself to be so self-aware that you see your faults more than your successes.”

With no opportunities in the NFL, it was Hickson’s dad who put in the work to find an opportunity for his son.

“My dad worked his butt off to get me an opportunity. The days and the weeks and the months that I felt like it was over, he was still working,” Hickson said.

Hickson said his dad’s friend, former college coach Houston Nutt, made some calls that led to the younger Hickson coming to the CFL.

He had waited about 900 days between football games before he played in the Riders’ first pre-season game on May 31.

“It’s incredibly tough. You second-guess yourself and question yourself if you are making the right decisions. You get to that day and it’s a whirlwind of emotions and you’re just happy to even be there,” Hickson said.

“That’s ultimately the kind of mentality I’ve had since then: If I’m only going to get one week of a rookie camp, I’m going to make the most out of it. If I’m only going to get two weeks out of a real camp, I’m going to make the most of it.”

Hickson has enjoyed his time up in Canada.

“It’s an exciting league and the fans are amazing. This was the best transition from college to pro sports where I can still get a feel of college sports — the fanfare weekly and going out into the city and people coming up to you and shaking your hand after a good game,” Hickson said.

In his first CFL season, Hickson has rushed for 448 yards and a touchdown, mostly in a backup role.

But Hickson has been getting a bulk of the touches recently after Jamal Morrow was put on the six-game injury list with a broken hand on Aug. 25.

In his last game against Winnipeg, Hickson rushed for 85 yards on 15 carries.

“I just go out and try to make the most out of every day,” Hickson said. “To say that I thought I was going to make it this far, I’d be lying to you if I said I was 100 per cent sure of that – I wasn’t.”